Kevin McCarthy voted U.S. House Speaker after 15 ballots and final, dramatic confrontation

Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday’s historic 15th post-midnight ballot, overcoming a long-running row and floor tensions after a tumultuous week that tested the new Republican majority’s ability to govern.

“My father always told me, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” McCarthy told fellow Republicans.

Wanting to confront US President Joe Biden and the Democrats, he promised subpoenas and investigations. “Now the hard work begins,” the California Republican said. He credits former president Donald Trump for standing with the people and for making the final call “to help get those final votes.”

Republicans roared in celebration as their victory was announced, chanting “USA! USA!”

Finally elected, McCarthy took the oath of office, and the House of Representatives was finally able to swear in the newly elected members of parliament who had been waiting all week for the chamber to officially open and the 2023-24 session to begin.

“As Speaker of the House, my primary responsibility is not to my party, our conference or even our Congress. My responsibility, our responsibility, is to our country,” he said after receiving the gavel.

After four days of grueling votes, McCarthy turned more than a dozen conservatives into supporters, including the chairman of the chamber’s Freedom Caucus.

Drama on the House floor

He fell one vote short of the 14th ballot, as Republican Rep. Florida’s Matt Gaetz withheld support and voted “now,” and the room became greedy and unruly.

McCarthy, 57, walked to the back of the room to confront Gaetz, who was sitting with Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert and other holdouts. Fingers are pointed, words are exchanged and violence seems to be avoided.

McCarthy then slowly walked down the hall, alone, his head bowed to the ground. But he turned back when he heard a scuffle behind him. Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican ally of McCarthy, has angrily confronted Gaetz, telling him he will regret the decision.

MPs on the floor shouted in disbelief – with one shout of “stay civil!” – as another Republican, Rep. Richard Hudson, physically pulled Rogers back when he approached Gaetz.

Order restored, Republicans fell in line to give McCarthy the position he had fought so hard to gain, House Speaker, second in line of succession to the president.

The few remaining Republicans are starting to vote now, lowering the threshold of support needed to win. It is the end of a bitter standoff that has shown the strength and fragility of American democracy.

The tally was 216-212, with Democrats voting for leader Hakeem Jeffries, and six Republican holdouts for McCarthy’s only vote today.

The dramatic turn of events that night came after McCarthy agreed to many of his detractors’ demands – including the reinstatement of a long-standing House rule that would have allowed members to cast a single vote to remove the Speaker from office.

Even if McCarthy secures the votes he needs, he will be a weakened Speaker, having given up some power and being constantly threatened with impeachment by his critics.

But he can also be inspired as a survivor of one of the more brutal fights for the hammer in US history. Not since the Civil War has a Speaker’s vote been dragged through so many rounds of voting.

anniversary of the January 6 attack

The race that led to the new Congress took place against the background of the second anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, which shocked the country when the masses of Trump supporters tried to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s victory. Republican Party in the 2020 presidential election.

At a Capitol event on Friday, several lawmakers, all but one Democrat, observed a moment of silence and praised the officials who helped protect Congress that day. And at the White House, Biden presented medals to officers and others who fought the attackers.

“America is a country of law, not chaos,” he said.

Some holdouts give

In the afternoon Speaker vote, some Republicans tired of the spectacle temporarily walked out while one of McCarthy’s most ardent challengers, Gaetz, railed against the Republican leader.

The contours of a deal with the conservative bloc that blocked McCarthy’s revival had emerged the night before and were put on hold after four grim days and 14 failed votes in an interparty standoff unseen in modern times.

One of the former key detainees – Republican Scott Perry, chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus, who has led Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election – tweeted after McCarthy’s election, “We are at a turning point.”

Another Republican holdout, Byron Donalds of Florida, who was repeatedly nominated as an alternative candidate for Speaker, turned on Friday, strongly, voting for McCarthy.

Trump may have played a role in swaying some of the holdouts – calling a meeting of Republican freshmen the night before, and calling other members ahead of the vote. He called on Republicans to resolve public disputes.

When Republican Mike Garcia nominated McCarthy on Friday, he also thanked the US Capitol Police, who were given a standing ovation for protecting lawmakers and Democratic legislative seats on January 6, 2021.

But while nominating Democratic leader Jeffries, Democrat Jim Clyburn remembered the horror of that day and told his colleagues, “The eyes of our country are now.”

Electing the Speaker is usually an easy and fun task for the party that has just won majority control. But not this time: About 200 Republicans were harassed by 20 right-wing colleagues who said McCarthy wasn’t conservative enough.

Come late to vote in support

The House adjourned Friday until late at night, giving time for last-minute negotiations and allowing two absent Republican colleagues to return to Washington.

Newly elected Wesley Hunt of Texas showed up to vote for McCarthy – to applause, the day after his wife had given birth – as did Ken Buck of Colorado.

A disorganized start to the new Congress points to problems ahead with Republicans who now control the House, as several past Republican Speakers, including John Boehner, have had trouble leading the rebellious right wing. The result: government shutdowns, standoffs and Boehner’s early retirement when conservatives are threatened with extinction, oust people.

Agreement McCarthy presented to the holdouts of the Freedom Caucus and others center around the rule change they have been seeking for months. The changes will reduce the power of the Speaker’s office and give lawmakers greater influence in drafting and approving laws.

At the heart of the emerging deal is the reinstatement of a House rule that would allow a single lawmaker to make a “seat vacating” motion, which essentially means casting a vote to remove the Speaker.

McCarthy has refused to allow a return to the long-standing rule that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi has done with, because it has been held through the head of Boehner. But it appears McCarthy has no other choice.

another win for more obscure holdouts and including a provision in the proposed deal to expand the number of seats available on the House rules committee; to mandate 72 hours for bills to be sent before votes; and promised to try to amend the constitution that would impose a federal limit on the number of terms a person can serve in the House and Senate.

Before Friday’s football, Democratic leader Jeffries of New York had won the most votes on every ballot but also lacked a majority. McCarthy has run twice, failing to place.

The longest battle for the hammer began in late 1855 and dragged on for two months, with 133 ballots, during the debate over slavery during the Civil War.